Former Penn, Notre Dame baseball star Niko Kavadas thriving in Red Sox minor league system

Niko Kavadas’s trip home was cut in half.

“It was a great problem to have,” Kavadas remarked.

Kavadas was supposed to be off for four days following the Portland (Maine.) Sea Dogs’ final game before the All-Star break on July 9. That changed when Portland manager Chad Epperson called Kavadas into his office after the game.

Instead of returning to Portland, Kavadas would join the Worcester (Mass.) Red Sox, the AAA affiliate for the MLB’s Boston Red Sox. It meant heading back to Portland on Wednesday instead of Friday, packing his belongings and catching a flight to Florida with his new team for a weekend series with the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp.

“It was a surreal experience,” Kavadas said. “I was super excited and whatnot, but also, I had to alter all of my travel plans. It was really hectic.”

Home for Kavadas is Northern Indiana. It’s where he played baseball until he was 22 years old, following up a standout prep career at Penn High School with an even more impressive collegiate one at Notre Dame.

In his senior season in South Bend, Kavadas led a program resurgence for the Fighting Irish, reaching the Super Regionals before losing to eventual national champion, Mississippi State. In 47 games, Kavadas belted 22 home runs, 64 RBIs and an on base + slugging total of 1.240.

From 2021: Kavadas, Kohlhepp named All-Americans by D1Baseball

Kavadas has been on an upward trajectory ever since college. Selected in the 11th round of the MLB draft, Kavadas played eight games for the Red Sox’s rookie league team in Florida before getting seven games with the single-A Salem Red Sox to end the 2021 season.

He started in Salem in 2022, appearing in 59 games before moving to high-A Greenville (S.C.). Kavadas barely spent six weeks with the Drive, earning another promotion — this time to double-A Portland — for the final month of the Sea Dogs’ 2022 campaign.

Kavadas played 102 total minor league games last year, batting .280 batting with a .443 on-base percentage to go along with 26 home runs and 86 RBIs. He drew 102 walks, which Kavadas believes is a big reason why he’s moving through the Red Sox farm system so quickly.

“Even when I’m not hitting the ball over the wall or things like that, I’m still able to work walks and help our team win,” Kavadas said. “When you have bad days where you’re 0-for-3, but you can draw two walks, you’re still able to be productive for the team. I think they see that, and they value that.”

Kavadas played 69 games for Portland this year before being called up to Worcester. In that time, he totaled 14 homers, 42 RBIs and 63 walks. He’s only made 13 plate appearances for Worcester heading into Thursday night, but he already has three hits and three walks.

While hitting has always been a strong suit for Kavadas, he credits his work on defense for helping him reach Triple-A.

“Coming out of college, I was an all-bat profile,” Kavadas said. “I needed to take it upon myself to be more agile left-to-right and also be more secure in my hands and my ability to pick the ball. I think I’ve made big strides, defensively, this year, which is partially responsible for being eligible for a promotion.”

Even though he’s been busy with his own career, Kavadas has kept tabs on his two alma mater’s. Penn has won back-to-back Class 4A state baseball championships, while Notre Dame made it to the College World Series in 2022.

Kavadas noted he and Penn senior-to-be RJ Cromartie have been in contact, given Cromartie has committed to Notre Dame for college already.

“For him to have his success is really exciting,” Kavadas said. “He’s a guy that I’ve talked to a little bit; we went to the same hitting instructor, Mike Martz, out in Sturgis, Michigan. I’m really excited for RJ and that Penn team, and I’m excited for RJ as he moves on to South Bend.”

Kavadas’s high school coach, Greg Dikos, has been keeping track of his career since he graduated from Penn in 2017.

“I’ve had a few former players in minor leagues,” Dikos noted, “But Triple-A is by far the closest I’ve come to have someone in the big leagues. We’re rooting for him and everything he’s accomplished.”

Kavadas knows he has to remain focused on the task at hand if he wants to reach the major league level.

“The MLB is the goal, and everything that happens between now and then is just preparing you for that goal,” Kavadas said. “It’s just about taking each day and thinking about, ‘What can I do each day to make myself one step closer to making it to that ultimate goal?’ You can’t take anything for granted, and you have to continue to work every single day to get to that ultimate goal.”

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Red Sox prospects: Niko Kavadas thrives after promotion to Triple-A